Record-setting half-year for Israeli tourism

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Some 1.6 million tourists visited Israel in the first half of 2010, setting a record, the country’s Tourism Ministry.

The total represents a 39 percent increase over the same period in 2009 and 10 percent above 2008, Israel’s previous record year for tourism, according to a news release from the ministry.

According to ministry estimates, the income from tourism only, excluding air travel, reached about $1.55 billion in the first six months of this year.

Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov said the increase in tourism "is the result of massive investment in marketing activities around the world with significant budgets, especially against the background of the public diplomacy challenges that Israel is facing."